A teen who got pregnant was recently outed by Target stores, reports the New York Times in a story on how the mega store targets and markets customer reports.

After making pregnancy related purchases, the store’s marketing system started sending baby-related coupons to her home. After the teen’s dad saw them sent to his young daughter, he went to Target to complain only to discover the news. Sad, but I wouldn’t blame Target. Most people know that stores routinely send you targeted ads and deals once you pony up your address by either paying with a card, signing up for their card or filling out contest surveys . I saw someone in a comment to one story try to call it a legal violation of the law that protects health records and rights, but I’m not sure about that.

Target does this for many women and cannot filter who is who. It’s too bad dad had to learn of his little girl’s condition this way but so is the way of the world. What do you think? Am I off base? Was Target in the wrong here? Was the girl at fault for not paying for her pregnancy-related needs with cash?

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Moms have inspired “nurse-ins” in response to staff at popular stores forcing them to stop breastfeeding in public areas. The most recent happened with Michelle Hickman was told to stop nursing her 5-month old infant at a cafe in the Target in a Webster, Texas Target store. She said its staff asked her to move it to the fitting room. Those employees clearly didn’t know that Texas permits public nursing and aggressively insisted she stop nursing there even after Hickman told them she knew her rights.

In solidarity, several women nationwide have gone into Target stores and nursed-flash mob style almost.

“I was sitting down in the store in a remote area,” Hickman told CNN anchor Isha Sesay on Wednesday. “Not a single person came by that was a customer and I was completely covered with a large blanket. So I don’t see how they find it that offensive.”

CNN reports:

Target said it has a longstanding policy of supporting breastfeeding in its stores.

“Guests who choose to breastfeed in public areas of the store are welcome to do so without being made to feel uncomfortable,” Target spokeswoman Jessica Carlson told CNN.

“Additionally, we support the use of fitting rooms for women who wish to breastfeed their babies, even if others are waiting to use the fitting rooms,” her statement read.

“We continually educate our team members in stores across the country on store policies to ensure all guests have a great experience. We worked with this guest directly to address her concerns and are sorry any inconvenience it has caused,” Carlson said.
In a show of solidarity with Hickman, women from Kansas to North Carolina to Florida held “nurse-ins” at Target stores.

In Wilmington, North Carolina, more than a dozen women sat comfortably on the ground with their legs crossed while nursing their babies, most of whom were covered by wraps or blankets. Similar scenes played out at Target stores in Sarasota, Florida; Wichita, Kansas; and Houston.

“Things like this are really wonderful because it takes a lot of mother-to-mother support and even though none of us know the mother in Texas, it’s just a matter of everyone pulling together and saying, it is OK, don’t feel bad about it,” Emily Barnhill, mother of an 18-month-old boy, told CNN Wilmington affiliate WECT.

A Utah woman told to stop nursing in a Whole Foods also sparked a nationwide “nurse in” and in the UK, a breastfeeding mom organized a nursing “flash mob” after being told to stop breastfeeding in public.

The lesson: don’t mess with breastfeeding moms who know their rights! Power on!

Over 9 million people have enjoyed Bellyitch's Award-winning Celeb "bumpwatch" pregnancy and parenting blog. Trying to Conceive? Download our FREE Fertility 100 ebook. Hunting for Top Maternity or Kids Brands? Our Bellyitch 100 is the free resource for you. Baby Shower Shopping? Check out out Top Picks on Amazon or our Gift Guides.

My sister, Posh the Socialite, discovered this Halloween costume on Twitter of a guy dressed as Beyonce delivering her famous “bump heard all around the world” news about her pregnancy during the red carpet of the 2011 MTV Music Video Awards HILARIOUS!

My other favorite costumes of people dressed as celebrity outings/performances include:

Over 9 million people have enjoyed Bellyitch's Award-winning Celeb "bumpwatch" pregnancy and parenting blog. Trying to Conceive? Download our FREE Fertility 100 ebook. Hunting for Top Maternity or Kids Brands? Our Bellyitch 100 is the free resource for you. Baby Shower Shopping? Check out out Top Picks on Amazon or our Gift Guides.

Someone told me about a Japanese company called Tsukihoshi that makes quality constructed infant shoes made to support their feet. There’s also Geox, which I heard made solid shoes for kids.

I think I might check them out because EVERY SINGLE kid I run into wears the same shoes from Stride Rite and they look the same year in and year out. Not that that’s a big thing, but Im just curious to see what else is out there other than the children’s variety of those adult athletic shoe companies like Vans, Skechers, Nike, Reebok, New Balance, Puma, Adidas, etc.

To be honest, I think I am tempted to just get her a pair of Robeez, the brand of shoes which acknowledges that although going barefeet is best for infants learning to walk, their brand is the next best thing. And it’s not everywhere you want your early walker trotting about barefeet. The shoes are a bit on the pricey side, and Target has a cheaper knock off (on the right), but I’ve found they are not as strongly made and the materials are flimsier than the real Robeez.

There’s also Pedoodles (right in blue) and Kai Run (left in pink and green)which are similar to Robeez in style and construction.

We’ll see! hmmmm….

Over 9 million people have enjoyed Bellyitch's Award-winning Celeb "bumpwatch" pregnancy and parenting blog. Trying to Conceive? Download our FREE Fertility 100 ebook. Hunting for Top Maternity or Kids Brands? Our Bellyitch 100 is the free resource for you. Baby Shower Shopping? Check out out Top Picks on Amazon or our Gift Guides.

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